System and method for detecting postures of a user of an information handling system (ihs) during extreme lighting conditions

ABSTRACT

Methods and systems are provided for determining a posture of a user of an Information Handling System (IHS) during extreme lighting conditions. In particular, the HIS include executable instructions to utilize the visual light camera of the IHS to generate a visual light image of a user of the HIS, identify a plurality of physical feature landmarks of the user in the visual light image such that when a quality of the received visual light image goes below a specified minimum image quality level, utilizing the IR camera of the Information Handling System (IHS) to generate an IR image of the user, and identify the physical feature landmarks of the user based on the IR image.

BACKGROUND

As the value and use of information continues to increase, individualsand businesses seek additional ways to process and store information.One option is an Information Handling System (IHS). An IHS generallyprocesses, compiles, stores, and/or communicates information or data forbusiness, personal, or other purposes. Because technology andinformation handling needs and requirements may vary between differentapplications, IHSs may also vary regarding what information is handled,how the information is handled, how much information is processed,stored, or communicated, and how quickly and efficiently the informationmay be processed, stored, or communicated. The variations in IHSs allowfor IHSs to be general or configured for a specific user or specific usesuch as financial transaction processing, airline reservations,enterprise data storage, global communications, etc. In addition, IHSsmay include a variety of hardware and software components that may beconfigured to process, store, and communicate information and mayinclude one or more computer systems, data storage systems, andnetworking systems.

IHSs that are utilized for personal use, such personal computers,laptops, tablets, smartphones, etc., are increasingly likely to beregularly utilized for long intervals of time. Uninterrupted use of IHSswithout breaks has been demonstrated to be potentially harmful, bothphysically and psychologically, to the user. For instance, users mayexperience physical side effects from regular and continued use of anIHS while physically positioned in non-ergonomic postures, such as whileslouching in a chair.

SUMMARY

According to one embodiment, a system and method are provided fordetermining a posture of a user of an Information Handling System (IHS)during extreme lighting conditions. In particular, the HIS includeexecutable instructions to utilize the visual light camera of the IHS togenerate a visual light image of a user of the HIS, identify a pluralityof physical feature landmarks of the user in the visual light image suchthat when a quality of the received visual light image goes below aspecified minimum image quality level, utilizing the IR camera of theInformation Handling System (IHS) to generate an IR image of the user,and identify the physical feature landmarks of the user based on the IRimage.

According to another embodiment, a posture estimation method includesthe steps of utilizing a visual light camera of the Information HandlingSystem (IHS) to generate a visual light image of a user of the HIS, andidentifying a plurality of physical feature landmarks of the user in thevisual light image. When a quality of the received visual light imagegoes below a specified minimum image quality level, the method performsthe steps of utilizing an infrared (IR) camera of the InformationHandling System (IHS) to generate an IR image of the user, andidentifying the physical feature landmarks of the user based on the IRimage.

According to yet another embodiment, a computer program product storedon a computer readable storage medium is executable by a processor toutilize a visual light camera of an Information Handling System (IHS) togenerate a visual light image of a user of the HIS, and identify aplurality of physical feature landmarks of the user in the visual lightimage. When a quality of the received visual light image goes below aspecified minimum image quality level, the computer program product isfurther executable to utilize an infrared (IR) camera of the InformationHandling System (IHS) to generate an IR image of the user, and identifythe physical feature landmarks of the user based on the IR image.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention(s) is/are illustrated by way of example and is/arenot limited by the accompanying figures, in which like referencesindicate similar elements. Elements in the figures are illustrated forsimplicity and clarity, and have not necessarily been drawn to scale.

FIG. 1 illustrates an example extreme light posture estimating systemaccording to one embodiment of the present disclosure

FIG. 2 is a block diagram depicting certain components of an IHSoperable according to various embodiments for detecting physicalpostures of a user of the IHS according to one embodiment of the presentdisclosure.

FIG. 3 illustrates several example components of the extreme lightposture estimating system that may be used to obtain a posture scorethat will be provided to the user to indicate the probability of sittingin an upright position according to one embodiment of the presentdisclosure.

FIG. 4 illustrates an example posture estimating method that may be usedto estimate a posture of a user in extreme light conditions according toone embodiment of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present disclosure is described with reference to the attachedfigures. The figures are not drawn to scale, and they are providedmerely to illustrate the disclosure. Several aspects of the disclosureare described below with reference to example applications forillustration. It should be understood that numerous specific details,relationships, and methods are set forth to provide an understanding ofthe disclosure. The present disclosure is not limited by the illustratedordering of acts or events, as some acts may occur in different ordersand/or concurrently with other acts or events. Furthermore, not allillustrated acts or events are required to implement a methodology inaccordance with the present disclosure.

Wellness devices generally refer to those devices that aid users inselecting lifestyles or activities that enhances their overall health.Examples of such wellness devices may include, for example, fitnesswatches, blood pressure/heart rate monitors, and blood sugar testingdevices to name a few. Due to advent of portable computing devices, suchas laptop computers, and smartphones, wellness applications have beendeveloped that leverage the capabilities of those devices. One exampleof a wellness application may include a SIGNALS application provided byDELL TECHNOLOGIES. One goal of the SIGNALS application is toperiodically measure a user's sitting posture for providingretrospective insight for the user to be aware of the estimated amountof time spent sitting in an upright position as compared to anon-upright position. This information is intended to work with othergamification capabilities in SIGNALS application to nudge the usertowards a better sitting posture in order to minimize unhealthyconsequences, such as musculoskeletal disorder (MSD).

To measure a user's posture, a camera of the user's computing device(IHS) may be used along with a suitable algorithm to estimate a posturelevel of the user. Typically, the front-facing camera used is based onvisible light imaging, and a human pose estimation algorithm used isbased on training from a large volume of visible light images. Thistechnique is good for normal and stable ambient light conditions. Duringextreme light conditions, such as low light environments or bright lightenvironments, this technique often does not perform as well. Morespecifically, the visible light camera will yield inferior qualityimages due to the extreme light condition. For example, during dim lightconditions, the image will often contain many pixels with dark imagevalues, while during bright light conditions, the image will oftencontain many pixels with bright image values (e.g., saturated image).Both scenarios reduce image contrast, thus affecting the human poseestimation algorithm that would otherwise be used to extract importanthuman joint landmarks information for measuring a user's posture.

FIG. 1 illustrates an example extreme light posture estimating system100 according to one embodiment of the present disclosure that mayprovide a solution to the aforementioned problems, among others, thatonly use visible light cameras. The system 100 includes an IHS 102 incommunication with a cloud environment 104 (e.g., IHS support portal)that includes a database 106 that stores differing wireframes 108 thatare each associated with differing levels of proper posture. The IHS 102includes an executable posture estimation engine 116 that receivesimages of a user 110 from a visual light camera 114 and an infrared (IR)camera 120 of the IHS 102, and in conjunction with the cloud environment104, processes the image by accessing the wireframes 108 stored in thecloud environment 104 to estimate a posture score 112. While the presentembodiment describes the IHS 102 as accessing the wireframes 108 from anexternal cloud environment 104, it should be appreciated that in otherembodiments, the wireframes 108 may be stored in the IHS 102 so that thesystem 100 may access the wireframes 108 from an internal memory of theIHS 102, thus negating the need for the cloud environment 104 in someembodiments.

According to embodiments of the present disclosure, the system 100 maycontinually monitor the quality of the images obtained from the visuallight camera 114, such that when the quality of the imagery is reducedbelow a certain specified threshold level, the system 100 receives andprocesses IR images from an IR camera 120 so that the detrimentaleffects of the low quality images may be mitigated.

Many currently manufactured personal IHSs, such as laptop computers,notebook computers, smartphones, and the like come equipped with IRcameras. In some cases, the IR cameras are integrally formed with avisual light camera in a single package so that the IR camera can usethe same lens that the visual light camera uses. When a personal IHS isconfigured with an IR camera, it may be used for various usefulfunctions, such as for security purposes to authenticate that thecurrent user is authorized to use certain functions of the personal IHS.More importantly, the IR camera generates imagery using IR radiation inan analogous manner to how a typical visual light camera operates. Whilea visual light camera receives and processes radiation in the 400-700nanometer range, the IR camera receives and processes radiation in the1,000-14,000 nanometer range. IR radiation within this range is oftenreferred to as black body radiation in that it is emitted by an object(e.g., a user's body) as a factor of its thermal temperature. Thus, IRcameras may be relatively more immune to extreme lighting effects thatis incurred by visual light cameras, which may be dependent uponreflected light to generate images with reasonable quality.

The user will typically operate the IHS while facing an integrateddisplay of the IHS, or in some cases an external display that is coupledto the IHS. The physical characteristics in which the user 110 holdstheir body while operating the IHS may be referred to as the user'sposture. Postures that are considered ergonomic are those in which theuser 110 is aligned and positioned relative to the IHS such that theuser's body is necessarily strained. As described, operating an IHS forprolonged periods of time while positioned in non-ergonomic postures mayresult in the user 110 experience a variety of physical symptoms.

The camera capabilities of the IHS are used to capture a two-dimensionalimage with the camera settings of the IHS configured to focus the cameraon the user 110 that is positioned at their expected location whileoperating the IHS, such as facing the display screen of the IHS fromapproximately an arms-length distance from the display screen asillustrated in FIG. 1 . In this manner, the camera capabilities of theIHS may be used to capture an image of the user 110 as they face thedisplay of the IHS as they operate the IHS. In some cases, the capturedimage may then be processed in order to isolate the user 110 from therest of the image, and in particular to isolate the user 110 from thebackground behind the user 110 and from any surfaces in front of theuser 110, such as from a desk or table.

The system 100 may use the estimated posture score 112 in any suitablemanner for aiding the user 110 in enhancing their posture. For example,the posture score 112 may be periodically checked against a specifiedthreshold value such that when it is exceeded, the system 100 maygenerate an alert message to the user 110. As another example, theposture score 112 may be used as an input value to another machinelearning (ML) process for identifying certain epochs or periods of timewhen the user's posture becomes less than desirable. That is, the MLprocess may identify a particular application (e.g., gaming application)that when executed by the user 110, causes that user's overall postureto suffer. As yet another example, the system 100 may generate ahistogram that may be provided to the user 110 at periodic levels (e.g.,each week, each month, etc.) to show how the user's posture has beenmaintained during the preceding time period.

To estimate whether a person is sitting in an upright or non-uprightposition from the use of visual light images and IR images provided bythe camera 114, which on many portable IHSs, such as laptop computersand smart phones, is a front-facing camera, the system 100 leverages a2D human pose estimation technique to record certain key physicalfeature landmarks (e.g., joint coordinate data, the user's eyes,shoulders, mouth, nose, chin, and top of the user's head, etc.) of theuser 110, accessing the database 106 that stores multiple wireframes 108of a person seated in an upright or non-upright position, and comparingthe physical feature landmarks against the wireframes 108 for estimatingthe probability of sitting in an upright position of the user 110. Awireframe generally refers to a locus of landmarks that indicate arelative position of certain body features to one another. As will bedescribed in detail herein below, the posture estimation engine 116includes an IR to visible light image translation engine that translatesan IR image into a visual light image so that the quality of the posturescore may be enhanced during extreme lighting conditions.

For purposes of this disclosure, an IHS may include any instrumentalityor aggregate of instrumentalities operable to compute, calculate,determine, classify, process, transmit, receive, retrieve, originate,switch, store, display, communicate, manifest, detect, record,reproduce, handle, or utilize any form of information, intelligence, ordata for business, scientific, control, or other purposes. For example,an IHS may be a personal computer (e.g., desktop or laptop), tabletcomputer, mobile device (e.g., Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) or smartphone), server (e.g., blade server or rack server), a network storagedevice, or any other suitable device and may vary in size, shape,performance, functionality, and price. An IHS may include Random AccessMemory (RAM), one or more processing resources, such as a CentralProcessing Unit (CPU) or hardware or software control logic, Read-OnlyMemory (ROM), and/or other types of nonvolatile memory.

Additional components of an IHS may include one or more disk drives, oneor more network ports for communicating with external devices as well asvarious I/O devices, such as a keyboard, a mouse, touchscreen, and/or avideo display. An IHS may also include one or more buses operable totransmit communications between the various hardware components. Anexample of an IHS is described in more detail below. FIG. 1 shows anexample of an IHS configured to implement the systems and methodsdescribed herein according to certain embodiments. It should beappreciated that although certain IHS embodiments described herein maybe discussed in the context of a personal computing device, otherembodiments may be utilized.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram depicting certain components of an IHS 102operable according to various embodiments for detecting physicalpostures of a user of the IHS. As described in additional detail below,IHS 102 may include capabilities for identifying and evaluating theposture in which the user of IHS 102 is physically positioned relativeto the IHS, where such determinations may be made based on datacollected from various I/O capabilities supported by the IHS 102. Inaddition, embodiments may also utilize data collected by the IHS 102 toestimate levels of risk posed by identified postures of the user. Invarious embodiments, IHS 102 may include an embedded controller 226 thatincludes logic that executes program instructions, in conjunction withoperations by components of power supply unit 215 and the operatingsystem of IHS 102, to perform the operations disclosed herein forcollecting data for use in detecting physical postures of a user of theIHS 102. While a single IHS 102 is illustrated in FIG. 2 , IHS 102 maybe a component of an enterprise system that may include any number ofadditional IHSs that may also be configured in the same or analogousmanner to IHS 102.

IHS 102 includes one or more processors 201, such as a CentralProcessing Unit (CPU), that execute code retrieved from a system memory205. Although IHS 102 is illustrated with a single processor 201, otherembodiments may include two or more processors, that may each beconfigured identically, or to provide specialized processing functions.Processor 201 may include any processor capable of executing programinstructions, such as an Intel Pentium™ series processor or anygeneral-purpose or embedded processors implementing any of a variety ofInstruction Set Architectures (ISAs), such as the x86, POWERPC®, ARM®,SPARC®, or MIPS® ISAs, or any other suitable ISA.

In the embodiment of FIG. 2 , the processor 201 includes an integratedmemory controller 218 that may be implemented directly within thecircuitry of the processor 201, or the memory controller 218 may be aseparate integrated circuit that is located on the same die as theprocessor 201. The memory controller 218 may be configured to manage thetransfer of data to and from the system memory 205 of the IHS 102 via ahigh-speed memory interface 204. The system memory 205 that is coupledto processor 201 provides the processor 201 with a high-speed memorythat may be used in the execution of computer program instructions bythe processor 201. Accordingly, system memory 205 may include memorycomponents, such as such as static RAM (SRAM), dynamic RAM (DRAM), NANDFlash memory, suitable for supporting high-speed memory operations bythe processor 201. In certain embodiments, system memory 205 may combineboth persistent, non-volatile memory and volatile memory. In certainembodiments, the system memory 205 may be comprised of multipleremovable memory modules.

IHS 102 utilizes a chipset 203 that may include one or more integratedcircuits that are connected to processor 201. In the embodiment of FIG.2 , processor 201 is depicted as a component of chipset 203. In otherembodiments, all of chipset 203, or portions of chipset 203 may beimplemented directly within the integrated circuitry of the processor201. Chipset 203 provides the processor(s) 201 with access to a varietyof resources accessible via bus 202. In IHS 102, bus 202 is illustratedas a single element. Various embodiments may utilize any number of busesto provide the illustrated pathways served by bus 202.

As illustrated, a variety of resources may be coupled to theprocessor(s) 201 of the IHS 102 through the chipset 203. For instance,chipset 203 may be coupled to a network interface 209 that may supportdiverse types of network connectivity. In certain embodiments, IHS 102may include one or more Network Interface Controllers (NICs), each ofwhich may implement the hardware required for communicating via aspecific networking technology, such as Wi-Fi, BLUETOOTH, Ethernet, andmobile cellular networks (e.g., CDMA, TDMA, LTE). As illustrated,network interface 209 may support network connections by wired networkcontrollers 222 and wireless network controller 223. Each networkcontroller 222, 223 may be coupled via various buses to the chipset 203of IHS 102 in supporting several types of network connectivity, such asthe network connectivity utilized by applications of the operatingsystem of IHS 102.

Chipset 203 may also provide access to one or more display device(s)208, 213 via graphics processor 207. In certain embodiments, graphicsprocessor 207 may be comprised within a video or graphics card or withinan embedded controller installed within IHS 102. In certain embodiments,graphics processor 207 may be integrated within processor 201, such as acomponent of a system-on-chip. Graphics processor 207 may generatedisplay information and provide the generated information to one or moredisplay device(s) 208, 213 coupled to the IHS 102. The one or moredisplay devices 208, 213 coupled to IHS 102 may utilize LCD, LED, OLED,or other display technologies. Each display device 208, 213 may becapable of receiving touch inputs such as via a touch controller thatmay be an embedded component of the display device 208, 213 or graphicsprocessor 207, or may be a separate component of IHS 102 accessed viabus 202. As illustrated, IHS 102 may support an integrated displaydevice 208, such as a display integrated into a laptop, tablet, 2-in-1convertible device, or mobile device. In some embodiments, IHS 102 maybe a hybrid laptop computer that includes dual integrated displaysincorporated in both of the laptop panels. IHS 102 may also support useof one or more external displays 213, such as external monitors that maybe coupled to IHS 102 via diverse types of couplings.

In certain embodiments, chipset 203 may utilize one or more I/Ocontrollers 210 that may each support hardware components such as userI/O devices and sensors 212. For instance, I/O controller 210 mayprovide access to one or more user I/O devices such as a keyboard,mouse, touchpad, touchscreen, microphone, speakers, camera and otherinput and output devices that may be coupled to IHS 102. Each of thesupported user I/O devices may interface with the I/O controller 210through wired or wireless connections. In some embodiments, the I/Odevices that may be accessible by IHS 102 may include one or morecameras, which may be an integrated component of the IHS, or that may bean external device coupled to the IHS through a wired or wirelesscoupling. As described in additional detail below, embodiments mayutilize one or more cameras of the IHS in identifying and evaluating theposture in which the user of IHS 102 is physically positioned relativeto the IHS. In particular, two-dimensional images captured using thecamera capabilities of the IHS may be used to identify and locatelandmark features of a user, which may be used in determining theposture in which the user is currently positioned, relative to the IHS.

In certain embodiments, sensors 212 that may be accessed via I/Ocontrollers 210 may provide access to data describing environmental andoperating conditions of IHS 102. For instance, sensors 212 may includegeo-location sensors capable for providing a geographic location for IHS102, such as a GPS sensor or other location sensors configured todetermine the location of IHS 102 based on triangulation and networkinformation. Various additional sensors, such as optical, infrared andsonar sensors may provide support for xR (virtual, augmented, mixedreality) sessions hosted by the IHS 102. Such sensors 212 may providecapabilities for detecting when a user is within a certain proximity toIHS 102. For instance, sensors 212 may detect when a user is in closeproximity to the IHS 102 and, in some cases, whether the user is facingthe display(s) 208, 213.

As illustrated, I/O controllers 210 may include a USB controller 211that, in some embodiments, may also implement functions of a USB hub. Insome embodiments, USB controller 211 may be a dedicated microcontrollerthat is coupled to the motherboard of IHS 102. In other embodiments, USBcontroller 211 may be implemented as a function of another component,such as a component of a SoC (System on Chip) of IHS 102, embeddedcontroller 226, processors 201 or of an operating system of IHS 102. USBcontroller 211 supports communications between IHS 102 and one or moreUSB devices coupled to IHS 102, whether the USB devices may be coupledto IHS 102 via wired or wireless connections. In some embodiments, a USBcontroller 211 may operate one or more USB drivers that detect thecoupling of USB devices and/or power inputs to USB ports 227 a-n. USBcontroller 211 may include drivers that implement functions forsupporting communications between IHS 102 and coupled USB devices, wherethe USB drivers may support communications according to various USBprotocols (e.g., USB 2.0, USB 3.0). In providing functions of a hub, USBcontroller 211 may support concurrent couplings by multiple USB devicesvia one or more USB ports 227 a-n supported by IHS 102.

Chipset 203 also provides processor 201 with access to one or morestorage devices 219. In various embodiments, storage device 219 may beintegral to the IHS 102, or may be external to the IHS 102. In certainembodiments, storage device 219 may be accessed via a storage controllerthat may be an integrated component of the storage device. Storagedevice 219 may be implemented using any memory technology allowing IHS102 to store and retrieve data. For instance, storage device 219 may bea magnetic hard disk storage drive or a solid-state storage drive. Incertain embodiments, storage device 219 may be a system of storagedevices, such as a cloud drive accessible via network interface 209.

As illustrated, IHS 102 also includes a BIOS (Basic Input/Output System)217 that may be stored in a non-volatile memory accessible by chipset203 via bus 202. In some embodiments, BIOS 217 may be implemented usinga dedicated microcontroller coupled to the motherboard of IHS 102. Insome embodiments, BIOS 217 may be implemented as operations of embeddedcontroller 226. Upon powering or restarting IHS 102, processor(s) 201may utilize BIOS 217 instructions to initialize and test hardwarecomponents coupled to the IHS 102. The BIOS 217 instructions may alsoload an operating system for use by the IHS 102. The BIOS 217 providesan abstraction layer that allows the operating system to interface withthe hardware components of the IHS 102. The Unified Extensible FirmwareInterface (UEFI) was designed as a successor to BIOS. As a result, manymodern IHSs utilize UEFI in addition to or instead of a BIOS. As usedherein, BIOS is intended to also encompass UEFI.

Some IHS 102 embodiments may utilize an embedded controller 226 that maybe a motherboard component of IHS 102 and may include one or more logicunits. In certain embodiments, embedded controller 226 may operate froma separate power plane from the main processors 201, and thus from theoperating system functions of IHS 102. In some embodiments, firmwareinstructions utilized by embedded controller 226 may be used to operatea secure execution environment that may include operations for providingvarious core functions of IHS 102, such as power management andmanagement of certain operating modes of IHS 102.

Embedded controller 226 may also implement operations for interfacingwith a power supply unit 215 in managing power for IHS 102. In certaininstances, the operations of embedded controller may determine the powerstatus of IHS 102, such as whether IHS 102 is operating strictly frombattery power, whether any charging inputs are being received by powersupply unit 215, and/or the appropriate mode for charging the one ormore battery cells 224 a-n using the available charging inputs. Embeddedcontroller 226 may support routing and use of power inputs received viaa USB port 227 a-n and/or via a power port 225 supported by the powersupply unit 215. In addition, operations of embedded controller 226 mayinteroperate with power supply unit 215 in order to provide batterystatus information, such as the charge level of the cells 224 a-n ofbattery 224. In some embodiments, power status information collected byembedded controller 226 may be utilized in determining whether tooperate user activity monitoring procedures, where the monitoring ofuser activity is used to determine when the user is actively operatingthe IHS 102 and when the user has taken a break from operating the IHS.

In some embodiments, embedded controller 226 may also interface withpower supply unit 215 in monitoring the battery state of battery 224,such as the relative state of charge of battery 224, where this chargelevel of the battery 224 may be specified as a percentage of the fullcharge capacity of the battery 224. In some instance, when operatingfrom power stored in battery 224, embedded controller 226 may detectwhen the voltage of the battery 224 drops below a low-voltage threshold.When the charge level of battery 224 drops below such a low-voltagethreshold, embedded controller 226 may transition the IHS to anoff-power state in implementing a battery protection mode that preservesa minimal power level in battery 224.

Embedded controller 226 may also implement operations for detectingcertain changes to the physical configuration of IHS 102 and managingthe modes corresponding to different physical configurations of IHS 102.For instance, where IHS 102 is a laptop computer or a convertible laptopcomputer, embedded controller 226 may receive inputs from a lid positionsensor that may detect whether the two sides of the laptop have beenlatched together, such that the IHS is in a closed position. In responseto lid position sensor detecting latching of the lid of IHS 102,embedded controller 226 may initiate operations for shutting down IHS102 or placing IHS 102 in a low-power mode. In this manner, IHS 102 maysupport the use of various power modes. In some embodiments, the powermodes of IHS 102 may be implemented through operations of the embeddedcontroller 226 and power supply unit 215.

As described, IHS 102 may also include a power supply unit 215 thatreceives power inputs used for charging batteries 224 from which the IHS102 operates. IHS 102 may include a power port 225 to which an ACadapter may be coupled to provide IHS 102 with a supply of DC power. TheDC power input received at power port 225 may be utilized by a batterycharger 220 for recharging one or more internal batteries 224 of IHS102. As illustrated, batteries 224 utilized by IHS 102 may include oneor more cells 224 a-n that may connected in series or in parallel. Powersupply unit 215 may support various modes for charging the cells 224 a-nof battery 224 based on the power supply available to IHS 102 and basedon the charge levels of the battery system 224. In certain embodiments,power supply unit 215 of IHS 102 may include a power port controller 214that is operable for configuring operations by power port 225.

In various embodiments, an IHS 102 does not include each of thecomponents shown in FIG. 2 . In various embodiments, an IHS 102 mayinclude various additional components in addition to those that areshown in FIG. 2 . Furthermore, some components that are represented asseparate components in FIG. 2 may in certain embodiments instead beintegrated with other components. For example, in certain embodiments,all or a portion of the functionality provided by the illustratedcomponents may instead be provided by components integrated into the oneor more processor(s) 201 as a systems-on-a-chip.

FIG. 3 illustrates several example components of the extreme lightposture estimating system 100 that may be used to obtain a posture scorethat will be provided to the user to indicate the probability of sittingin an upright position according to one embodiment of the presentdisclosure. As shown, the posture estimation engine 116 includes a 2Dposture estimation engine 302, a landmark variation estimation engine304, an IR to visible light image translation engine 306, and a posturescoring engine 308. Nevertheless, it should be appreciated that otherembodiments of the posture estimation engine 116 may include additional,different, or fewer components without deviating from the spirit andscope of the present disclosure.

When the user 110 is positioned in front of the IHS 102, the 2D postureestimation engine 302 uses the visual light camera 114 to record animage 314 of the user 110 sitting or standing in front of the IHS 102,and deploy a 2D human pose estimation model to derive a wireframe 316comprising several key physical feature landmarks 318 a-b (collectively318). In the set of landmarks 318, landmarks 318 a may correspond to thelocation of the ends of each of the user's shoulders, while landmark 318b may correspond to the location of the user's eyes.

The landmark variation estimation engine 304 estimates a level ofvariability in the currently received image 314 to multiple previouslyreceived images. The landmark variation estimation engine 304 maycompare the variability of the position of each landmark 318 in thecurrent image 314 to a specified quantity of corresponding landmarks inprevious images. For example, if the frame rate of the visual lightcamera 114 is 30 frames-per-second and the landmark variation estimationengine 304 is to compare the variability in the landmarks over theprevious 2 seconds, it will compare the landmarks 318 againstcorresponding landmarks in the previous 60 images.

The landmark variation estimation engine 304 may estimate thevariability in any suitable manner. In one embodiment, the landmarkvariation estimation engine 304 may measure a standard deviation of adistribution of position values of each of the landmarks 318, andperform a regression analysis technique (e.g., k-nearest neighborengine) to derive a single value of the variability estimate. Arelatively large variability value may be interpreted to mean that anextreme light condition exists, while a relatively smaller variabilityvalue may be interpreted to mean that the extreme light condition doesnot exist. While the present disclosure uses a statistical probabilityfunction to determine that an extreme light condition exists, othertechniques may be used without departing from the spirit and scope ofthe present disclosure. For example, the system 100 may measure a levelof contrast in the image 314, or an overall brightness level of theimage 314 to determine whether an extreme light condition exists.

If the extreme light level is determined to not exist, the wireframe 316is sent to the posture scoring engine 308 where the posture of the user110 may be estimated. If, however, the landmark variation estimationengine 304 determines that an extreme light level exists, it mayactivate the IR camera 120, which in turn, causes the IR to visiblelight image translation engine 306 to receive an IR image 320. The IR tovisible light image translation engine 306 may then process the IR image320 to create a translated visual light image 322. Because the IR image320 does not depend upon the ambient light level around the user 110,the quality of the translated visual light image 322 may be superior tothat of the visual light image 314. The 2D posture estimation engine 302then deploys the 2D human pose estimation model to derive anotherimproved wireframe 316 that is largely based on the IR image 320obtained from the IR camera 120. Thus as shown, the IR camera 120 may beused to aid in posture estimation enhancement, and in particular, whenextreme light conditions exist.

The posture scoring engine 308 may derive a score for the posture of theuser 110 in any suitable manner. In general, the posture score generallyrefers to a probability of the user sitting in an upright or in anon-upright position. In one embodiment, the posture scoring engine 308may send the physical feature landmarks to a cloud environment (e.g.,IHS vendor support portal), which uses a regression analysis technique(e.g., k-nearest neighbor engine) that compares the wireframe 318against a database of model wireframes associated with a human structurewith varying levels of posture ranging from non-ergonomic (e.g., badposture) to ergonomic (e.g., good posture). Additionally, the modelwireframes may be associated with an assessed, known posture score. Oncethe posture score is obtained, the cloud environment may send theestimated posture score to the IHS 102 for the user to comprehend theprobability of sitting in an upright position. Any suitable regressionanalysis technique may be used without departing from the spirit andscope of the present disclosure.

FIG. 4 illustrates an example posture estimating method 400 that may beused to estimate a posture of a user in extreme light conditionsaccording to one embodiment of the present disclosure. Additionally oralternatively, certain steps of the method 400 may be performed by theposture estimation engine 116 and/or by a cloud environment administeredby a vendor of the IHS 102. The method 400 can be performed at ongoingintervals to continually assess the posture of the user. In oneembodiment, the rate at which the method 400 is performed may beadjusted based on certain factors, such as when the posture level of theuser deteriorates or improves, during certain periods of the day (e.g.,morning, lunch time, afternoon, evening, night, etc.), and/or inresponse to detecting a lack of movement and/or activity by the user forover a certain duration of time. Embodiments of the present disclosuremay generate a risk score based on the detected posture of the user,where the risk score quantifies the risk of physical side effects forparticular non-ergonomic postures. In such embodiments, embodiments mayinitiate posture detection procedures more regularly as the risk scoresfor the user's posture increase. As such, embodiments may detectpostures more frequently for users with poor ergonomics.

At step 402, the method 400 receives a visual light image of the user ofthe IHS. The visual light image may be obtained, for example, from avisual light camera configured on the IHS. The method 400 then generatesa wireframe of landmarks using the visual light image at step 404. Thelandmarks may include any feature of the user, such as joint coordinatedata, the user's eyes, shoulders, mouth, nose, chin, and top of theuser's head, and the like. At step 406, generates a histogram of thelandmarks along with the corresponding landmarks of a specified numberof previous images. Any quantity of previous images may be used thatwhen the histogram is created, a relatively well-formed normaldistribution of the histogram may be obtained. The method 400 thendetermines a level of spatial variability of corresponding landmarks inthe images at step 408. For example, the method 400 may calculate astandard deviation for the histogram.

At step 410, the method 400 determines whether the level of spatialvariability exceeds a specified threshold. Because the level of spatialvariability may be considered to be proportional to the level of extremeambient light around the user, as the spatial variability increases, thelevel of extreme light also increases. If the level of spatialvariability exceeds the threshold value, processing continues at step410; otherwise, processing continues at step 418 in which the method 400processes the wireframe generated according to the visual light image toestimate a posture of the user.

At step 412, the method 400 activates an infrared camera of the IHS. TheIR camera may be positioned proximate to and oriented in the samedirection as the visual light camera so that the IR camera may generateimagery with a relatively same field-of-view as the visual light camera.In some embodiments, the IR camera may be integrally formed with thevisual light camera such that both the IR camera and visual light camerause the same lens.

At step 414, the method 400 receives an infrared image from the infraredcamera of the IHS, and translates the infrared image into a visual lightimage at step 416. Using the translated visual light image, the method400 generates a wireframe of landmarks using the translated infraredimage at step 418. Thereafter at step 420, the method estimates aposture level of the user using the IR image based wireframe. Thus, themethod 400 may estimate the posture of the user using a visual lightbased image or an IR based image. That is, visual light based images maybe used during normal lighting conditions, while IR based images may beused in extreme light conditions that may cause posture estimation tobecome excessively inaccurate.

Although FIG. 4 describes an example method 400 that may be performedfor estimating a posture level of a user, the features of the method 400may be embodied in other specific forms without deviating from thespirit and scope of the present disclosure. For example, the method 400may perform additional, fewer, or different operations than thosedescribed in the present examples. As another example, the steps of theaforedescribed method 400 may be performed in a sequence other than whatis described above. As yet another example, some, most, or all steps ofthe method 400 may be performed by an IHS other than the IHS 102.

It should be understood that various operations described herein may beimplemented in software executed by processing circuitry, hardware, or acombination thereof. The order in which each operation of a given methodis performed may be changed, and various operations may be added,reordered, combined, omitted, modified, etc. It is intended that theinvention(s) described herein embrace all such modifications and changesand, accordingly, the above description should be regarded in anillustrative rather than a restrictive sense.

The terms “tangible” and “non-transitory,” as used herein, are intendedto describe a computer-readable storage medium (or “memory”) excludingpropagating electromagnetic signals; but are not intended to otherwiselimit the type of physical computer-readable storage device that isencompassed by the phrase computer-readable medium or memory. Forinstance, the terms “non-transitory computer readable medium” or“tangible memory” are intended to encompass types of storage devicesthat do not necessarily store information permanently, including, forexample, RAM. Program instructions and data stored on a tangiblecomputer-accessible storage medium in non-transitory form may afterwardsbe transmitted by transmission media or signals such as electrical,electromagnetic, or digital signals, which may be conveyed via acommunication medium such as a network and/or a wireless link.

Although the invention(s) is/are described herein with reference tospecific embodiments, various modifications and changes can be madewithout departing from the scope of the present invention(s), as setforth in the claims below. Accordingly, the specification and figuresare to be regarded in an illustrative rather than a restrictive sense,and all such modifications are intended to be included within the scopeof the present invention(s). Any benefits, advantages, or solutions toproblems that are described herein with regard to specific embodimentsare not intended to be construed as a critical, required, or essentialfeature or element of any or all the claims.

Unless stated otherwise, terms such as “first” and “second” are used toarbitrarily distinguish between the elements such terms describe. Thus,these terms are not necessarily intended to indicate temporal or otherprioritization of such elements. The terms “coupled” or “operablycoupled” are defined as connected, although not necessarily directly,and not necessarily mechanically. The terms “a” and “an” are defined asone or more unless stated otherwise. The terms “comprise” (and any formof comprise, such as “comprises” and “comprising”), “have” (and any formof have, such as “has” and “having”), “include” (and any form ofinclude, such as “includes” and “including”) and “contain” (and any formof contain, such as “contains” and “containing”) are open-ended linkingverbs. As a result, a system, device, or apparatus that “comprises,”“has,” “includes” or “contains” one or more elements possesses those oneor more elements but is not limited to possessing only those one or moreelements. Similarly, a method or process that “comprises,” “has,”“includes” or “contains” one or more operations possesses those one ormore operations but is not limited to possessing only those one or moreoperations.

1. An Information Handling System (IHS) comprising: one or moreprocessors; a visual light camera and an infrared (IR) camera; a memorydevice coupled to the one or more processors, the memory device storingcomputer-readable instructions that, upon execution by the one or moreprocessors, cause the IHS to: utilize the visual light camera of the IHSto generate a visual light image of a user of the IHS; identify aplurality of physical feature landmarks of the user in the visual lightimage; when a quality of the received visual light image goes below aspecified minimum image quality level, utilizing the IR camera of theInformation Handling System (IHS) to generate an IR image of the user;identify the physical feature landmarks of the user based on the IRimage; create a histogram comprising the physical feature landmarks ofthe visual light image and the physical feature landmarks of a specifiedquantity of previous visual light images; determine a spatialvariability of corresponding physical feature landmarks in the visuallight images; and determine that the spatial variability has exceeded aspecified maximum variability threshold to determine that the quality ofthe received visual light image has gone below the specified minimumimage quality level.
 2. The IHS of claim 1, wherein the instructions,upon execution, cause the IHS to determine a posture score of the userusing the physical feature landmarks based on the IR image.
 3. The IHSof claim 2, wherein the instructions, upon execution, cause the IHS toestimate the posture score of the user using a regression analysistechnique.
 4. (canceled)
 5. The IHS of claim 4, wherein theinstructions, upon execution, cause the IHS to determine the spatialvariability of the physical feature landmarks based on the IR imageusing a standard deviation measurement of the of the histogram.
 6. TheIHS of claim 1, wherein the instructions, upon execution, cause the IHSto, when the quality of the received visual light image does not gobelow the specified minimum image quality level, identify the physicalfeature landmarks of the user based on the visual light image.
 7. TheIHS of claim 1, wherein the instructions, upon execution, cause the IHSto: translate the received IR image into a translated visual light imageusing a translation inference engine; and identify the physical featurelandmarks of the user using the translated visual light image.
 8. TheIHS of claim 1, wherein the instructions, upon execution, cause the IHSto identify the plurality of physical feature landmarks of the userbased on the IR image using a two-dimensional (2D) posture estimationinference engine.
 9. A posture estimation method comprising: utilizing avisual light camera of the Information Handling System (IHS) to generatea visual light image of a user of the IHS; identifying a plurality ofphysical feature landmarks of the user in the visual light image; when aquality of the received visual light image goes below a specifiedminimum image quality level, utilizing an infrared (IR) camera of theInformation Handling System (IHS) to generate an IR image of the user;identifying the physical feature landmarks of the user based on the IRimage; creating a histogram comprising the physical feature landmarks ofthe visual light image and the physical feature landmarks of a specifiedquantity of previous visual light images; determining a spatialvariability of corresponding physical feature landmarks in the visuallight images using a standard deviation measurement of the of thehistogram; and determining that the spatial variability has exceeded aspecified maximum variability threshold to determine that the quality ofthe received visual light image has gone below the specified minimumimage quality level.
 10. The method of claim 9, further comprisingdetermining a posture score of the user using the physical featurelandmarks using a regression analysis technique.
 11. (canceled)
 12. Themethod of claim 9, further comprising, when the quality of the receivedvisual light image does not go below the specified minimum image qualitylevel, identifying the physical feature landmarks of the user based onthe visual light image.
 13. The method of claim 9, further comprising:translating the received IR image into a translated visual light imageusing a translation inference engine; and identifying the physicalfeature landmarks of the user using the translated visual light image.14. The method of claim 9, further comprising identifying the pluralityof physical feature landmarks of the user based on the IR image using atwo-dimensional (2D) posture estimation inference engine.
 15. A computerprogram product comprising a non-transitory computer readable storagemedium having program instructions embodied therewith, the programinstructions executable by a processor to cause the processor to performthe following: utilize a visual light camera of an Information HandlingSystem (IHS) to generate a visual light image of a user of the IHS;identify a plurality of physical feature landmarks of the user in thevisual light image; when a quality of the received visual light imagegoes below a specified minimum image quality level, utilize an infrared(IR) camera of the Information Handling System (IHS) to generate an IRimage of the user; identify the physical feature landmarks of the userbased on the IR image; create a histogram comprising the physicalfeature landmarks of the visual light image and the physical featurelandmarks of a specified quantity of previous visual light images;determine a spatial variability of corresponding physical featurelandmarks in the visual light images; and determine that the spatialvariability has exceeded a specified maximum variability threshold todetermine that the quality of the received visual light image has gonebelow the specified minimum image quality level.
 16. The computerprogram product of claim 15, wherein the instructions, upon execution,cause the IHS to determine, using the physical feature landmarks, aposture score of the user using a regression analysis technique. 17.(canceled)
 18. The computer program product of claim 15, wherein theinstructions, upon execution, cause the IHS to, when the quality of thereceived visual light image does not go below the specified minimumimage quality level, identify the physical feature landmarks of the userbased on the visual light image.
 19. The computer program product ofclaim 1, wherein the instructions, upon execution, cause the IHS to:translate the received IR image into a translated visual light imageusing a translation inference engine; and identify the physical featurelandmarks of the user using the translated visual light image.
 20. Thecomputer program product of claim 15, wherein the instructions, uponexecution, cause the IHS to identify the plurality of physical featurelandmarks of the user using a two-dimensional (2D) posture estimationinference engine.